REVIEW: పంజా [Panjaa] [2011]

“I’m here to be your shadow” I have never seen a Bollywood film before. The concept has never appealed to me. Yes, I enjoyed the dance number at the end of Slumdog Millionaire as a cool, ‘cast having fun’ type extra, but what it would feel like during the course of the film I just couldn’t fathom. Unsure whether it would be more cohesive musical or disjointed drama with music video interludes, my first Indian-produced cinema experience proved to be a little of both. I should preface the fact that…

Read More

REVIEW: Daffy’s Rhapsody [2012]

“Bullets whipping past my tail” Much like 2010’s Coyote Falls brought Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner back to the big screen in 3D computer form, 2012 reintroduces us to venerable favorites Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in Daffy’s Rhapsody. Using the 1953 ode from Warren Foster and Michael Maltese with music by Billy May—in Mel Blanc‘s original Daffy voice—director Matthew O’Callaghan crafts a theatrical tale of a one-duck show a la Broadway spectaculars. It’s Fudd (Billy West)—fully formed onscreen with speech impediment intact—who starts things off by checking out…

Read More

REVIEW: Joyful Noise [2012]

“Tap it and die” For a film about a gospel choir and the push and pull of faith within its singers’ lives, Joyful Noise has a funny way of getting its message of love and hope across. I understand it’s 2012 and we must show a progressive slant on the church in order to reach audiences and not turn a majority away before the theatre lights dim, but some of the stuff happening in this film is borderline offensive as it panders to the lowest common denominator in its clumsy…

Read More

REVIEW: Dig! [2004]

“We’ve got a full-scale revolution going on” The mid to late 90s introduced both The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre—two buzzed bands touted to take the world by storm. Their pop culture reference-laden monikers united to form a two-headed rock and roll Renaissance beast of pure post-modern musicianship and set them onto the path towards fame and fortune. Well, that was the plan at least. Firm friends and colleagues with the utmost mutual respect, the passing years would see Courtney Taylor (now with a repeated last name hyphenate,…

Read More

REVIEW: The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook [2006] & Pendarvia [2011]

“Whiskey, weed, and fine cocaine” It wasn’t until the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007 that I finally discovered indie-folk act The Decemberists. Yes, I was very late to the game. Already with three albums under their belt, the newest—The Crane Wife—captivated me completely. It’s sprawling, ambitious progressive folk stylings were right up my alley and I’ve not looked back since. Snagging a solitary balcony ticket to the almost sold out show at the University at Buffalo that March, I watched one of the best live acts around.…

Read More

REVIEW: Happy Feet Two [2011]

“Sometimes you have to back up to go forward” It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I loathed Happy Feet. As a concept the film seemed quite solid—cute penguins dancing, a modern soundtrack to tap along with, the comedy stylings of Robin Williams—but the final result was an ambush of politics and sexuality I’m not quite sure belongs in a film targeted towards children. Its ugly duckling mantra of finding yourself and treading your own path no matter what does inspire, but George Miller and company couldn’t let…

Read More

REVIEW: The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993]

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know” Born from a poem written in the early 80s while Tim Burton was still working as a Disney animator, The Nightmare Before Christmas was a project the auteur wasn’t going to let lay dormant anymore. After finding success with his signature style in the likes of Beetlejuice and Batman, Burton and Disney were able to agree to a deal that would let another Mouse House alum—Henry Selick—direct it as his first feature film. Bringing in Danny Elfman to write the music and eventually sing…

Read More

VIFF11 REVIEW: Inni [2011]

“We’re a very serious heavy metal band—and we worship the devil” If you go into Inni thinking you’ll receive Heima Part 2, you either be sadly disappointed or extremely grateful because it is anything but. Rather than show us Sigur Rós’ atmospherically sumptuous music against the gorgeous expanse of their Icelandic homeland, director Vincent Moriset captures the bombastic energy of one performance in a monochrome, scratchy gray. Shot with intimate compositions of abstract shapes and completely unbalanced framing, we experience the assault of being at the concert hall. Through a…

Read More

REVIEW: Footloose [1984]

“When you burn all these—what are you going to do then?” Almost three decades later, I have to acknowledge the fact that Footloose is dated. I don’t say it to be derogatory or to admit some hidden yearning I have to see it remade—which it was—but instead to simply state a fact. It’s dated; I’m not sure anyone could really refute the statement. That said, however, you cannot deny the talent involved. With acclaimed director Herbert Ross and songwriter turned screenwriter Dean Pitchford, the level of expertise behind the camera…

Read More

FILM MARATHON: Movie Musicals #12: The King and I [1956]

“Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera” You don’t get much more dated than the 1956 musical edition of The King and I. Through all the pomp and circumstance, it’s the trite storyline of a wannabe-modern king and the British school teacher who thaws his barbaric ways that comes through. All that’s wrong with the Western world is brought to the forefront as this woman alters a culture from the inside out. These exotic places must be taught what it means to be just and moral without thinking about the generations of customs their…

Read More

FILM MARATHON: Movie Musicals #11: Victor Victoria [1982]

“I’d sleep with you for a meatball” You’re down on your luck, famished, and unable to get a job despite having a voice like no other. What do you do? Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) is asking herself that very question when we see her auditioning for Chez Lui—a dump populated by gangsters and hotheads that’s closed almost ever other night due to brawls. This soprano can shatter glass with a high B-flat at whim but her empty stomach barely allows her to walk home. And then, of course, once she’s…

Read More